Meet Andrew, Founder of Happy Toms
Hi, I’m Andrew, the founder of Happy Toms. From a young age, I’ve been a friend to all animals. Growing up, my family always had cats :
Jam was a Siamese/Russian Blue crossbreed who was exceptionally elegant. He was inquisitive and had a great temperament with children. I was very young when we had him but can still vividly remember he used to meet us on the route home from primary school each day and walk the rest of the way home with my sister and I.. running ahead, hiding and jumping out of bushes to play with us. In the photo we are showing Jam some jam tarts we had made. Jam sadly died after being hit by a car when me and my sister were quite young.
Squeak, was a farmyard Tomcat. He was the runt of the litter who the farm wanted rid of as he wasn’t thriving. He got his name from the little squeaks he made as he was so young and tiny. As a young boy I nursed him with a pipette and gradually weaned him onto solid food. This created one of the strongest bonds I’ve ever had with an animal. Squeak and I were inseparable during my childhood, and through raising him, I learned so much about cat behaviour and responsible ownership. The Happy Toms logo is inspired by Squeak’s memory and represents the care and love we provide to all cats in our guardianship. When Squeak tragically died also in a car accident, I was devastated and vowed not to own another cat due to the pain of loss. Instead, I cared for other people’s cats, enjoying their companionship.
Munch; In early 2016, during very cold icy weather, a friend turned up at my door late one evening with a malnourished and scared young cat, who had been found in an outhouse in Wales and was living off spiders and a leaky outdoor tap. Knowing my experience with cats, he brought her to me to rescue as she was in poor condition. I took her in and nursed her back to health. Despite efforts to find her owners, she became my forever companion. She was virtually feral when she arrived, but with patience and training, she is now content and loves fuss and playtime. She bears the psychological scars from her early experiences of living in an outhouse in her formative years, never straying far from me, home and her food bowl. Her presence is a constant reminder of the joy and companionship cats bring, which is at the heart of Happy Toms’ mission to provide exceptional care for your feline friends whilst you are unable to.
Other animals: Throughout my life, being from an animal loving family, I’ve owned and cared for various other creatures great and small, including dogs, guinea pigs, rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, horses, finches, and fish. But cats have always been my favourites.
Behaviour / Psychology
With years of experience caring for pets, I decided to turn my passion into a qualification. In 2016, I earned an animal psychology qualification, covering dogs, cats, rabbits, and horses, to deepen my understanding of animal behaviour and to help me with some of the behavioural aspects of Munch. This training and qualification combined with my firsthand experiences of Squeak, Munch and other pets has given me valuable insights into animal behaviour, which I’m eager to share to help improve your relationship with your furry friends. If you need pet psychology advice, feel free to reach out—I’m here to help.
